This weekend is a bit quieter. NASCAR is at Richmond Raceway this weekend for a pair of night races. SRO America is at Road America, while the ARCA Menards Series is at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
NASCAR Richmond TV Schedule
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice: 2:05 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying: 3:10 p.m. ET Friday on FS2
- NASCAR Cup Series Practice: 4:30 p.m. ET Friday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying: 5:40 p.m. ET Friday on TruTV/HBO Max
- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series eero 250: 7:30 p.m. ET Friday on FS1
- NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400: 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on USA Network
- ARCA Menards Series Springfield ARCA 100: 2 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1
This weekend, NASCAR makes its one and only visit to Richmond Raceway this season. All of the action will take place under the lights, which will result in a more comfortable setting for fans.
The NASCAR Cup Series will serve as the headliners. The teams will pull into the garage early Friday morning for a two-day.
Practice is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET Friday afternoon with live coverage on TruTV and HBO Max. Qualifying will begin shortly after the split 25-minute sessions.
Coverage of the Cook Out 400 will begin with Countdown to Green at 7 p.m. ET Saturday night on USA Network. Race coverage is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the green flag around 7:40 p.m. ET.
With the NASCAR Xfinity Series off this weekend (something that is greatly beneficial to Connor Zilisch), the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will serve as primary support. The teams are already on-site with their transporters, but they aren’t scheduled to pull into the garage until 7 a.m. ET Friday morning for a one-day show.
Practice is scheduled to begin at 2:05 p.m. ET Friday afternoon. Coverage will air live on FOX Sports 2 starting at 2 p.m. ET. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.
Coverage of the eero 250 will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday night on FS1. The green flag will fall around 7:45 p.m. ET.
Outside of Richmond, the ARCA Menards Series has its first dirt race of the year at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Teams are scheduled to pull in at effectively sunrise Sunday for a one-day show.
A 30-minute practice session is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET with qualifying happening at 12:15 p.m. ET. Neither session will be televised.
Coverage of the Springfield ARCA 100 will air live on FS1 starting at 2 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon. The green flag is scheduled to fall at 2:09 p.m. ET.
TV Ratings Check — Watkins Glen
Sunday’s broadcast of the Go Bowling at the Glen on USA Network earned a 1.0 rating with 1.85 million viewers. The number isn’t great, but is up slightly in viewership from last year’s race. That event, which was a playoff race in September, had 1.81 million viewers.
Saturday’s Mission 200 at the Glen for the NASCAR Xfinity Series earned a .6 rating with 1.096 million viewers. It’s up 40% from last year’s September race on USA Network.
Friday evening’s never-ending Mission 176 for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series attracted 253,000 viewers on FS1. This is down 46.4% in viewership from the last Truck race at Watkins Glen in 2021. Note that the 2021 race was a Saturday afternoon race held back-to-back with the Xfinity Series that was cut short due to lightning.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.